The other day this big black Pete comes around me on the Interstate, and it is a flatbed loaded with sheets of copper. (A “Pete” for all our oversea’s readers is an American Made Diesel Semi Truck Tractor, very popular, and the official name is Peterbilt, but most truckers call them “Pete’s” for short) I suppose it came out of mine in Utah or Arizona and is headed back east. Might be headed to the U.S. Mint for another load of pennies, that now cost almost two cents to make. Go figure?
Which got me to thinking, “Man, that is a lot of coin on that trailer. I sure would like a piece of that.”
As I have been experiencing some difficulty making my ends meet (very little discretionary income available) here lately, I have changed my thought patterns. Like most American’s these days, I have more month than I have money, so I think quite often, on how to possibly acquire some more.
No longer worrying about frivolous endeavors, what would life be like if Goldilocks was named “Silverhair.” Or what if it was Henry and Edward, instead of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Can you imagine a bedtime story of Little Red Riding Hood if her first name was a good old Okie name like Blanchette. The possibilities are endless, think about it, The Tin Woodsman in the Wizard of Oz … How about Nick Chopper.
These days, my major emphasis on idle thought, seems to be of money.
But this big black Pete got me to thinking about it. Copper is now up around $4 a pound, which makes it a hot item among thieves. Houses nationwide have been plundered for the copper plumbing, electricity sub stations hit for the wire, air conditioners, sprinklers, rain gutters and even lawn ornaments are disappearing fast. Thieves evidently know what is valuable and what is not, with a 300% increase in the theft of copper alone, which is a pretty good indicator, right there.
This past weekend the Daily Oklahoman ran a story about how thefts in the city were up and as times get rough, people are going to naturally steal something. Which isn’t all that true, times are not all that tough, they are just perceived to be tough, employment in Oklahoma right now is pretty good. Expecting people to steal from you is just not a reasonable request in my opinion. I do not steal, and I do not expect my neighbors to steal from me. There is nothing natural about it at all.
So what do we do when resources run out?
The earth is not an inexhaustible storehouse of materials, when you stop to think about it. Sooner or later, all of this, is going to become scarce, what then? Which gave me this stark realization (my kid calls them brain farts). Might be a good idea to consider investing in a dump.
There are a lot of dumps scattered across the country that are in fact, virtual storehouses of materials. They are the older dumps, not the newer facilities where most of the recyclable materials have been removed. I am talking about the old sites, where people dumped everything under the sun. They are more than likely loaded with a proverbial gold mine of materials.
So if you take a moment to think about it. It makes good sense to think along these lines.
American’s and their collective wasteful habits have been known for years as “a throw away society” with too much junk. The Bush administration wants us to spend our money here in America and stimulate the economy, what better way than to buy your very own dump. You cannot get any more American than that!
Of course, you may have to tear up some perfectly good city parks and an occasional golf course that is built over these facilities. That might be a problem. I cannot wait for Cup Cake to wake up, so I can tell her of my latest brainstorm concerning our economic stimulus check.
I’ll bet she will be surprised and smile that quirky smile I see so often.
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Related: Too Much Stuff
